Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

@2Scratters - That's all sounding on track. Your use-it-up drive is still going well. It is very satisfying, isn't it?
F

foxgloves

Hello Monday Money Savers,
Thanks for your comments & contributions which I enjoy reading. Meant to post yesterday but didn't really have a lot to report, other than a very pleasant pre-Christmas meet-up with some of the in-laws at a lovely farm shop cafe not far away in a neighbouring county. I'd budgeted for breakfast out as a pre-birthday treat for Mr F so he had the full works! We were very restrained afterwards in the shop. It really is stacked to the rafters with tempting items, but everything that went into our basket was on our festive food shopping list, so I was able to do a bit of crossing-off later. There was a positive development in the turkey saga. I think I mentioned that we need a frozen one this year but I had veto-ed Mr F getting one when he was in Waitbl00m last week because I couldn't see there was any way it would fit in the freezer, even with positively Olympic Gold levels of freezer-tetris. Well, he was worrying about this turkey from Thursday night into Saturday, fretting that they'd all sell out, we wouldn't get one, we've invited friends for Christmas dinner between Christmas & New Year, etc, etc, then he disappeared into the kitchen & from whence there came sounds of much icy rummaging before he reappeared saying we could now defo fit a turkey in there. I had to see it with my own eyes & although he did remove a large container of bacon ribs to cook on Saturday night, I don't know how he managed to free up so much space. So yesterday, on our way home from our family meet-up, we swung by the supermarket & bought one. They were all a standard price, just classed as 'medium' & he was so pleased with himself for finding the biggest one in its class, that he suddenly remembered he had his coffee beaker in the car & availed himself of a free latte! That was basically yesterday......a festive meet-up & chat then turkey success.
Right, onto today's effort if anyone's still awake.......
*3 loads of laundry done & on heated airer. I did hope to peg out at least the big towels, jeans, etc, but despite the forecast fibbing about us being very low on rain today, it peed down most of the morning, so was glad of the heated airer, even though I have absolutely rammed it & will need to pop through occasionally to jiggle stuff around a bit.
*Marzipanned 2 Christmas cakes. I don't bother buying apricot jam for gluing it on as usually have plenty of home made marmalade which works just as well & tastes more festive anyway. I had the leftover bit in the pan on my breakfast toast, & have been nibbling at that damned leftover marzipan all day! Food of the Gods - my Mum was the same with it & my sister is too. 
*Baked bread.
*Finished the pair of socks I've been knitting for Mr F from all sorts of random sock yarn in my stash. He was very pleased with them. They are bright & cheery and I think it's satisfying to upcycle leftovers into useful new items without the departure of further pence. There will hopefully be plenty of this going on next year once we get started on our financial challenge.
*Did my usual Monday morning budget updates - mostly grocery budget & Personal Spends.
*Very low effort nosebag tonight as I've defrosted 2 portions of the gigantes plakis I batch-cooked during our tomato glut & will simply serve them with rice.
*Did a few surveys - December's PA earnings have topped £30 once a couple of people have paid me. 
*Added a few titles to my ongoing library wishlist.
*Next task is to copy at least 6 recipes into my new book as this project really is taking a ridiculous amount of time - though admittedly because I am not putting the effort in, then I intend to practise my Christmas piano music.
Hope you all get off to a decent start to the week. If not, just start the week again tomorrow, as Tuesday is nearly 'still Monday', is it not? 
Cheers all,
F x

Blackcats

you you are doing really well with surveys.  I'm fortunate never to have had a zero hours contract but this month's survey action is a taster of that.  I turn up ready and willing to complete a survey and there is nothing there to do.

PennysIntoPounds

But did Mr F find the hidden star biscuits?!!

Suffolk_lass

PennysIntoPounds said:

But did Mr F find the hidden star biscuits?!!

Exactly my thoughts!!

Makingabobor2

PennysIntoPounds said:

But did Mr F find the hidden star biscuits?!!

Oh, I'd forgotten all about those. 

foxgloves

@Blackcats - How annoying when you are signing in ready & willing to earn money. I do find that I have sparse survey weeks, but then things usually pick up again.

@PennysIntoPounds & @Suffolk_lass - Yes! He blimming well did find them! But they are all still safely in their box despite him mentioning that they they looked "as though they'd go nicely with a beer". He actually found them last week when he was hunting in there for something else. He did get a consolation prize as there were 2 of that batch of falafel which I made for festive snacks which wouldn't fit in the box so we added one each of those to our lunch. He was quite impressed that both these & the stars were turned into Christmas snacks from leftovers & use-it-ups but I am really trying to use up all sorts of annoying little bits & bobs of things from the pantry as they make it look so untidy.
F

foxgloves

Greetings Money Savers,
I thought I'd pop my post on before I switch my laptop off for the day. Such a grey day today, but it has been dry & the wind has dropped so that was something. Anyway, have there been any sensible budgetty things today?
*As Mr F has one of his periodic very late shifts, we decided to pop across to the village farm shop cafe for breakfast - budget neutral as we used our Personal Spends. We took the 'Observer' crossword with us to see if we could step up from the quick Saturday Guardian cryptic & were stunned to find we did all but 2 clues! It felt like good cheap fun, anyway & keeps the little grey cells active.
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch & porridge pot. 
*Zizzed up the heel of a loaf for the freezer breadcrumb box.
*Topped up a few pantry jars to make a bit more space in there.
*Cleaned out my bathroom cabinet & re-stocked with items from my toiletries stash. While not going mad with bulk buying, I do like to buy certain products that I like when they are on offer & can then shop from home as they run out. This year, several things have lasted me longer because I have also interspersed them with 3 products trials from surveys & various free samples I received from a couple of shops. 
*Did a few surveys.
*Made a note of some things I could usefully do tomorrow to move a few festive things onwards. Being organised invariably saves money, does it not? 
It will just be me & the cats tonight until much, much later, so I decided to make it a jacket potato/fridge dive night & came up with cottage cheese & sliced avocado, which will be very easy. I intend to knit some more of my shawl (haven't yet reached the point at which I frogged it so I am really still re-knitting) & will probably entertain myself with Netty's Flicks, as the remote control will be all mine (& not Mr F's 'my precioussssssses') - Will defo watch another episode of 'Black Doves'. I don't have any TV knitting on the go atm - this is the sort of knitting I can do without having to count, look repeatedly at a pattern or error-prone so socks are ideal as I can knit them in 3 different sizes from memory. I went through my yarn stash the other day & I have 3 full balls of self-patterning sock-yarn in there which I bought when our charity bookshop unexpectedly had a big donation of good brands at half the usual retail price. Two of the colourways would suit Mr F & his B-i-L, so I think I will just knit those up & bung them in the presents stash. Our planned 2025 budget challenge is going to involve a LOT of shopping from home, so I think this would help me feel I'm making an early start on it, which all helps underline feelings of commitment.
Not even 4pm & it is looking positively crepuscular out there! I am off to close all the curtains & make the place look cosy for the night ahead.
Take care, m'dears. And remember, it isn't a bargain or a mega-hot deal if you don't need it & it's just 'ok'.......as I wish I'd realised between the ages of 19 & 43!!!
F x

Makingabobor2

So very true.....even these days, DH will still see some great yellow stickered bargain or a special offer and think its worth buying, even if its something we wouldn't normally buy or don't eat.   That's why I prefer to go shopping alone. 

Elisheba

foxgloves said:

 No desperation to buy another flask, it was our big old camping one & we do have another we can use. He says he's going for a non-glass inner next time as it was so embarrassing!

F x

I can thoroughly recommend the Stanley flasks. No glass inner and they keep heat for about 24 hours if you don't open them. I picked mine up in sales online, although I have seen my local hardware shop stocks them as well so you might find them locally as well.